A New Day
by playwright82
Summary: A series of drabbles and one-shots for the Snakes and Ladders challenge on HPFC. Different characters, different stories.
1. A New Day

**Disclaimer: I do NOT own Harry Potter. That honor belongs to J.K. Rowling. I just like to play in her world and mess with her characters.**

**A/N: This is for the Snakes and Ladders Challenge on HPFC. This takes place after the Triwizard Tournament, but before Harry gets out of the hospital wing.**

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A New Day

Albus Dumbledore sat behind his desk, his pensieve in front of him. He was going over everything that Harry Potter had done and said since exiting the maze clutching the dead body of his schoolmate, Cedric Diggory.

Albus sighed heavily. He knew what this meant for the whole of the nation. Unexplained Muggle deaths, disappearances of wizards, the dark mark in the sky again. It was too much.

For the first time Albus felt his age. He was tired and wished he could put off the unpleasantness until he felt rested and hale, but knew that was impossible. He had letters to write, people to visit, plans to formulate. He felt as if the weight of the world rested on his shoulders.

Albus stopped at that thought. The weight shouldn't be on his shoulders. It should be on the shoulders of the fourteen year old boy in the hospital wing. That poor boy had not just the weight of the world, but the _fate_ of the world resting on his shoulders.

A sudden thought struck Albus. He grabbed a quill and some parchment and quickly made a list of all former members of the First Order of the Phoenix…those that were still living anyway. He quickly sent the list to Remus and Sirius since he had asked them to get in touch with the old crew.

Albus grabbed another sheet of parchment and made a list of all the people he hoped to count on to join the New Order. The Weasleys were at the top of his list. He knew they would do anything to protect Harry. He mentally ran through his contacts at the Ministry and added the names of those he knew could be convinced. He was hoping those people could convince the ones he couldn't.

Pulling an entire sheaf of parchment to him, Albus wrote letters to all those that were on his list, minus the Weasleys. When he was finally finished with the letters, the first rays of the sun could be seen over the horizon. He wasn't really surprised. He knew he would not be sleeping for a while.

Albus stood from his desk and stretched. He needed to wash up and change his robes. He still had a school to run and had to figure out not only how to warn the students, but how to best protect the precious children in his care.

It was time to begin a new day.


	2. Family Vacation

**Disclaimer: My dear reader. I am not now nor have I ever been J.K. Rowling. I just write fan fiction.**

**A/N: I wrote this for the Snakes and Ladders Challenge on HPFC. I also may have gotten Bill's age wrong by 1 year. I couldn't remember if he was two years older than Charlie or three, so I made him two in this. I'll correct it if I'm wrong.**

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Family Vacation

Bill paced his flat nervously. His family was due to arrive any minute. His father had won the thousand galleon drawing that the Daily Prophet held. He was excited to see his younger brothers and sister. He hadn't seen them since he had left for Egypt four years earlier.

He had been working as a curse breaker for Gringotts for the last four years and he loved it. He was only 22 years old, but he had seen things in the tombs that other wizards could only dream of. The Egyptian wizards were kind of sadistic. Some of the curses were things that had been banned for hundreds of years. Some wizards were studying the history of the ancient Egyptian wizards and thought that these wizards may have invented the curses.

Of course there was a downside to his job too. Besides being away from his family, sometimes the curses would kill wizards if they were caught unawares. He had lost a couple of friends. One hadn't checked before continuing on in the tomb he was searching. Another had let his shield drop briefly and hadn't brought it back up in time.

Bill himself had almost been stupid enough to lose focus. He was not going to tell that story to his brothers with his mother around. She would kill him herself if she ever found out.

Before apparating to meet his family, Bill looked in the mirror and grinned. They would certainly be surprised by his appearance. He had let his hair grow out. He liked his look, but was certain his mother would not approve of the length of his hair. He was even thinking of getting his ear pierced.

He took one more deep breath before apparating to where his family would be arriving by port key. It was easier to travel by port key since no one had been to visit him yet. A few seconds after he arrived, the rest of the Weasley clan appeared in front of him. A huge grin instantly lit his face as he was surrounded on all sides by red hair and hugs.

Once all of his family members had stopped trying to talk over each other, Bill asked, "Where are you staying, Dad? I rented two cars for us to use this trip, since apparition isn't feasible."

"Oh, well, um…" Arthur Weasley was trying and failing to stall.

Molly Weasley looked at her husband. "Arthur, what did you do?"

Arthur looked at the ground and muttered something unintelligible. "Excuse me, Arthur? I didn't quite catch that," said Molly.

Arthur looked at his irate wife and said a little sheepishly, "I haven't booked us anywhere. I was hoping to stay in a Muggle hotel."

Molly's look softened slightly while the children laughed silently behind her. Bill didn't tell his mother this. He was standing behind his father patiently awaiting his instructions, but his eyes were dancing with amusement. Some things never changed and his father's love of Muggles was one.

"I took the liberty of booking us a wizard hotel. I thought you might try something like this. Bill, lead us to this address," Molly said, handing Bill a piece of paper with the address written on it.

Bill looked at the address and said, "Sure. That's just a few blocks away from my flat."

As they walked to the cars that Bill had reserved, Molly started fussing over the length of Bill's hair. "Really, Bill, dear. It's a little…long…don't you think? I mean I could just do a quick hair cut at the hotel."

"No, Mum. I like it like this and believe it or not it keeps the sun off my neck and keeps me cool. I've done it for practical reasons and it helps that I think it's a good look for me."

Molly sighed in resignation as Arthur led her to the second car. Bill looked at Charlie and said, "It also doesn't hurt that the witches love it."

They both laughed. Molly was giving directions to the rest of her brood. "Fred, George, you two ride with Bill and Charlie. Percy, Ron and Ginny will ride with me and your father." At the look on Ron's face she added, "No arguments!"

Ron wisely kept his mouth shut and got in the car. Bill asked his mother if she wanted to go directly to the hotel or if he could show them some of the highlights of Wizarding Egypt. Molly thought showing them around a bit was a good idea, thinking it would be a good opportunity for the younger children to learn something. All of the kids got souvenirs and Ron even managed to get a birthday present for Harry Potter, one of his best friends.

"Ron, why are you getting that?" Bill asked when he saw what Ron had bought for Harry. "Those sneakoscopes are just something to sell to gullible tourists. They don't even work."

Ron looked a little disappointed. "I just thought Harry might like it for his birthday. His aunt and uncle probably won't even acknowledge it and I wanted him to get something."

Bill was a little surprised that Harry's relatives would treat him like that. "Just make sure you tell him it doesn't work. I wouldn't want him to be disappointed."

"No problem," said Ron.

Bill finally got his family to the hotel and they settled the sleeping arrangements. Bill offered his couch to Charlie who eagerly accepted. Since Charlie was sleeping on Bill's couch, Ron no longer had to share a room with Ginny. Ginny got a room to herself and Percy, Fred, George and Ron shared a room.

They ate dinner together at the hotel. The sneakoscope Ron bought kept going off and Bill reiterated that it didn't work. Bill didn't know that Fred and George had slipped some beetles into his soup.

Bill and Charlie walked the few blocks to his flat and talked the whole way about their jobs and the witches they had met. When they got to Bill's flat, Bill gave Charlie the grand tour, showing him the bathroom, and got him some extra blankets. They decided to go to bed earlier than they normally would, so they wouldn't have to face the wrath of their mother the next morning by being late.

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The time passed much too quickly for Bill's liking. Soon it was time for Charlie to return to the dragons in Romania and the rest of the Weasley children to return to school. Molly informed Bill and Charlie that they would be staying at the Leaky Cauldron in London.

As Bill returned to his empty flat, he realized how much he missed his family. He hoped that he would get to spend time with his family again soon. He couldn't wait until that time came.


	3. Headmistress of Hogwarts

**Disclaimer: J.K. Rowling owns everything except this plot. I am making no money from this.**

**A/N: This is another one-shot for the Snakes and Ladders Challenge. This one is about Minerva McGonagall.**

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Headmistress of Hogwarts

Minerva McGonagall sighed as she looked at the group of students in front of her. It seemed they had inherited their parents' ability to get into trouble. James Potter, Albus Potter, Rose Weasley and Scorpius Malfoy had been caught out of bed after curfew…again.

"What am I going to do with the four of you?" she asked the two Gryffindors and two Slytherins sitting in front of her desk. "Detentions, writing to your parents, writing lines, manual labor. Nothing gets through to you. The other professors are fed up with trying to punish you. Go straight back to your common rooms and go directly to bed. I will give you your punishment tomorrow."

The four teenagers wisely kept silent and did as their headmistress asked. As soon as the door shut behind them the portrait behind her began to speak.

"Minerva, you know what those students need."

Minerva turned and looked at the portrait of Albus Dumbledore, one of the greatest headmasters Hogwarts had ever had, and one of Minerva's closest friends.

"No, Albus. I don't know."

Dumbledore looked thoughtful for a moment. "Each of those students, with the possible exception of the Malfoy boy, has one chore they hate above all others. Ask their parents what they abhor and then assign them that task. That shall be the task they always get when sent to this office."

"Albus, that's brilliant. How did you ever think of that?"

The portrait laughed and said, "My mother used to do that with me and Aberforth. It was a very effective deterrent."

Minerva took some parchment out, dipped a quill into her inkwell and started writing letters to the parents of the troublemakers. She asked each set of parents what type of housework their child hated most. She sealed the scrolls and attached each of them to the leg of an owl and sent them on their way.

The next morning the owls were waiting on the perch in her office. She untied the answers from the owls' legs and sent them for a well deserved rest in the owlry. She read each answer and was surprised that even Scorpius had a task he hated. Since it was a Saturday, she sent for the students immediately.

As soon as the four were sitting in her office, she started discussing their punishments.

"I have discussed your punishments with your parents and they have agreed to the punishments I have decided upon. You will be given separate punishments, so you will not be allowed to talk to each other during the time you are performing your duties."

The students looked at each other with worried looks on their faces. Minerva looked at James first.

"Mr. Potter, you will be helping Mr. Filch polish the plaques and trophies in the trophy room." At the look on James' face she added, "Without magic."

"Fine" he said. He crossed his arms and slumped in his seat.

"Mr. Potter," she said looking at Albus, "you will be helping Madam Pince reshelf the books in the library."

Seeing the wide-eyed look on her cousin's face, Rose quickly said, "I can help Madam Pince, Professor."

"No, Miss Weasley," said Minerva. "You would enjoy it and punishments are not to be enjoyed."

Albus looked down at his lap. "Ok."

"Miss Weasley," Minerva looked at Rose. "You will be helping the elves in the kitchen. You will help them wash dishes after lunch and dinner. I have already informed them that they are not to wash all the dishes."

"I hate doing dishes," Rose complained.

"Precisely Miss Weasley," replied Minerva. "Like I said earlier, punishments are not to be enjoyed.

"Mr. Malfoy, you will be helping Professor Longbottom in the greenhouses or helping Hagrid in the pumpkin patch."

Scorpius' eyes got wide and he said, "In the dirt? I hate dirt. It's so…dirty."

"So your mother told me. Now, all of you will be starting your tasks after lunch. From here on out, if you are sent to my office, this is the punishment you will receive. I am hoping you will learn something more form this than how not to get caught." She looked directly at James at this.

She let her instructions sink in a bit. Then she told them, "You may go."

As they stood to go Minerva noticed Scorpius grab Rose's hand. She wondered if their parents knew, but decided not to ask about it. She wasn't a meddler like her predecessor. When the door closed after the students, she turned and looked at Albus. The twinkle in his eye told her he had seen it too. Maybe she was a meddler after all.

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**A/N2: I got the idea for the punishments from my own mother. She used to make me clean the bathroom while I was grounded. In my room were books to read and I liked being alone. I still do. I didn't mind doing the dishes because we had a dishwasher. I didn't mind doing the laundry because of the washer and dryer. So I cleaned the bathroom. I still don't like cleaning the bathroom, but now it's a necessary evil.**


	4. Dobby's First Week

**Disclaimer: My dear reader. I am not now nor have I ever been J.K. Rowling. I just write fan fiction.**

**A/N: This is for the Snakes and Ladders Challenge on HPFC. My character was Dobby. Just a little drabble.**

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Dobby's First Week

Dobby sat in the kitchens of Hogwarts. He had been working for about a week and was wondering when or if he would get to see Harry Potter. Dobby was free from his old masters and was now working at Hogwarts for Professor Dumbledore. He liked wearing clothes and his favorite piece of clothing was socks. He liked socks because that was what Harry Potter had used to trick Master Malfoy into freeing Dobby.

Dobby had just gotten his first wages. He was getting paid a galleon a week with one day off a month and he was ecstatic. He was wondering what to buy with his new wages. He knew from working for the Malfoys that clothes would cost more than one galleon, but when his day off came, he would have four galleons.

He at first thought about buying socks, he had two socks, but he wanted more. Dobby looked down at what he was wearing. He had a hat, a tie, pants and socks. He still needed a shirt.

_That's it!_ he thought. _Dobby will buy a shirt with his new wages_. He now had a plan. Suddenly the door to the kitchens opened and he joined the other elves to eagerly help whatever student or faculty member wanted food or drink.

It was a student who walked in. She had bushy brown hair. All the elves started asking what she wanted. She looked right at Dobby and asked, "Who are you?"

"I is called Dobby, miss," he answered.

"Oh, my! Are you the Dobby that Harry talked about two years ago?"

Dobby started jumping up and down excitedly. "Harry Potter has talked of Dobby? Oh, Harry Potter is a kind wizard. Harry Potter mentions Dobby to his friends."

The bushy haired girl said, "I'll be right back," and left the kitchen. Dobby sat back at the table blinking his big round eyes watching the door for the girl to return.

When the door next opened it was the girl, a red haired boy and… "Harry Potter, sir! _Harry Potter!_"

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**A/N: This is the second version of this story. The first wasn't very good. This was better. I honestly couldn't think of a single thing for this character that didn't involve his death and I didn't want to think about Dobby's death and what he might have been experiencing in his afterlife. So I wrote about what he might have wanted to do with his wages. I had just read the chapter (for the ninth time) in GoF where Harry finds out Dobby is working in the kitchens and thought **_**What would Dobby have been thinking about before Harry showed up?**_** So I sat down and my brain started churning. I took the last line Dobby says straight from the book. It does **_**not**_** belong to me.**


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